"Two Little Dickie Birds" is an English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 nursery rhyme

Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

 and fingerplay. It has a Roud Folk Song Index

Roud Folk Song Index

The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...

 number of 16401.

Lyrics

Modern versions of the lyrics include:

Two little dickie birds,

Sitting on a wall;

One named Peter,

One named Paul.

Fly away Peter!

Fly away Paul!

Come Back Peter!

Come Back Paul!

Origins

The rhyme was first recorded when published in Mother Goose's Melody in London around 1765. In this version the names of the birds were Jack and Gill:

There were two blackbirds

Sat upon a hill,

The one was nam'd Jack,

The other nam'd Gill;

Fly away Jack,

Fly away Gill,

Come again Jack,

Come again Gill.

These names seem to have been replaced with the apostles

Apostle (Christian)

The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...

 Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

 and Paul in the nineteenth century.

Hand actions

The adult, out of sight of the child, will mark in some conspicuous way the nail

Nail (anatomy)

A nail is a horn-like envelope covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanges of fingers and toes in humans, most non-human primates, and a few other mammals. Nails are similar to claws, which are found on numerous other animals....

 of the index finger

Index finger

The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...

 of one hand and the nail of the second finger of the other hand. Both hands are then shown to the child as fists (folded fingers downwards) with the two fingers with marked nails pointing forward – these represent Peter and Paul. As the rhyme is recited, the hand actions are:

Line	Action
Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall	Both of the exposed, marked, fingers are wiggled to attract attention
One named Peter	Wiggle one marked finger, Peter, to attract attention
One named Paul	Wiggle other marked finger, Paul, to attract attention
Fly away Peter	The Peter hand is quickly drawn back alongside the adult’s head. As part of the movement the adult folds the marked finger and sticks out the second finger of the same hand and drops the hand back down to the original position. The child sees that the marking, Peter, is no longer there – it has flown away
Fly away Paul	The action is repeated with the other hand
Come Back Peter	The action is reversed to make Peter reappear
Come Back Paul	The action is reversed to make Paul reappear

In popular culture

• A pop version was recorded by Petula Clark
  Petula Clark
  Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
  
   in 1951, titled "Fly Away Peter, Fly Away Paul".
• On the 1975 album Minstrel in the Gallery
  Minstrel in the Gallery
  Minstrel in the Gallery is the eighth studio album by British band Jethro Tull, released in September 1975.Ian Anderson's lyrics and subject matter show an introspective and cynical air, possibly the byproduct of Anderson's recent divorce from first wife Jennie Franks and the pressures of touring,...
  
  by Jethro Tull
  Jethro Tull (band)
  Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
  
   song One White Duck / 0¹⁰ = Nothing At All, makes a reference to the nursery rhyme: "So fly away Peter, and fly away Paul, from the fingertip ledge of contentment".
• The nursery rhyme was included in Sesame Street
  Sesame Street
  Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
  
  , adding more birds in different places (sparrows, doves, robins, & crows)
• The Arthur Askey
  Arthur Askey
  Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
  
  Seagull Song makes reference to "Fly away Peter, Fly away Paul".
• The film, "Red Riding Trilogy Part I" makes reference to fly away peter/paul.